Northwest Indiana Discussion

Push on for Sunday alcohol sales




As owner of Broadway Liquors in downtown Chesterton, Mary Paulson is concerned about a statewide push to allow cold beer sales at grocery, drug and convenience stores.

"It's the one thing we have," she said. "It's the only thing we have."

The loss of this sole competitive edge, in conjunction with the potential of having to stay open seven days a week if the state approves another proposal to allow carry-out alcohol sales on Sundays, could deal a fatal blow to yet another round of mom-and-pop stores, Paulson said.

"Do we all just want to shop at Wal-Mart the rest of our lives?" she asked.

Grant Monahan, who serves as spokesman for The Alliance of Responsible Alcohol Retailers, which is pursuing the changes, said the proposals are all about saving consumers money and providing them with greater convenience.

Liquor stores typically charge more for cold beer, which is a practice he said would be discontinued if the sales are extended to other retailers.

That is currently the case for the local Strack & Van Til grocery chain, which sells cold beer for the same price as warm beer at its two Illinois locations, Buyer and Category Manager Mike Nisevich said.

He is told by brewers that more cold beer is sold at the stores than warm.

Monahan said lifting the carry-out ban on Sundays would serve customers by allowing them to pick up alcohol along with food during a single visit to a grocery store. He does not buy the argument that liquor store owners deserve the day off.

"I think that's a weak argument and a self-serving one," he said.

Nisevich said Strack & Van Til loses business on Sundays among customers who travel to nearby Illinois where carry-out alcohol sales are legal on that day.

Victor Solano, who owns DeKalb Street Liquors in Lake Station, said he believes the proposed change in the sale of cold beer will fuel the risk of underage drinking since there is no age limit to enter or work in a grocery, convenience or drug store.

Indiana State Excise Police announced last month an undercover investigation found liquor stores were nearly twice as likely to sell alcohol to underage consumers than grocery or drug stores.

Monahan hopes lawmakers will introduce the proposed changes when they wrap up a two-year study of alcohol beverage issues this summer.

In the meantime, consumers supporting the changes are invited to learn more and sign an online petition at beveragechoices.com.

think of all the fuel that will be saved and the environment.

Make sudsy the Sabbath?

Carryout Sunday sales of microwbrews, other minor alcohol changes on tap



INDIANAPOLIS | The General Assembly plans to consider changes to Indiana's alcohol laws this session, including proposals that would allow microbreweries to sell takeout beer on Sundays and permit alcohol sales during voting hours on Election Day.

But sweeping changes aren't likely to be approved. A summer study committee opposed changes that would allow Sunday carryout sales of alcohol from liquor stores, grocery stores and convenience stores or let venues besides liquor stores and certain bars sell takeout cold beer. Key House and Senate committee chairmen say they'll support those status quo recommendations.

The study committee also voted against allowing microbreweries -- smaller establishments that have limits on how much beer they can make each year -- to sell their beer for takeout on Sundays.

But Republican Sen. Ron Alting of Lafayette, chairman of the Senate Public Policy Committee, has filed a bill that would allow such sales. He plans to give it a hearing before his panel.

Alting noted that farm wineries in Indiana are allowed to sell their products for takeout on Sundays and said the same privilege should be extended to microbreweries such as Three Floyds Brewing in Munster and Crown Brewing in Crown Point.

"It's a tourism issue and it's a specialty item and it's a true art," Alting said.

The Brewers of Indiana Guild, which represents the state's 31 microbreweries, has lobbied for the change.

Ted Miller, president of the Guild and owner of the Brugge Brasserie brewpub in Indianapolis, said microbreweries are tourism destinations and Saturdays and Sundays are top days for visitors. He has a microbrewery in Terre Haute that produces his brands of beer but says Sunday tours are limited because people can't buy the beer for takeout that day.

"We sure as heck can't have a tour of our brewery (on Sundays) and not be able to sell our product," he said.

Alting's bill would limit the Sunday carryout sales from microbreweries to about three cases of beer per transaction.

Alting said he isn't sure the microbrewery bill will make it out of his committee.

Some lawmakers worry that the bill could be amended to include Sunday carryout sales from other venues or to expand takeout cold beer sales to places other than liquor stores and bars with certain permits. Sen. Phil Boots, R-Crawfordsville, has filed a bill that would allow those changes.

Alting said he will not give Boots' bill a hearing, and he vowed to kill the microbrewery bill if it is amended with such changes.

Even if it clears the Senate, the bill's House chances are iffy. It likely would be assigned to the House Public Policy Committee, whose chairman, Democratic Rep. Trent Van Haaften, of Mount Vernon, has expressed concerns that the bill could become a magnet for broader changes on Sunday carryout sales.

Van Haaften said he'll see what the Senate does and wouldn't say whether he would hear the bill.

Van Haaften and Alting both support allowing alcohol sales during Election Day voting hours, saying the current law prohibiting sales until polls close at 6 p.m. no longer makes sense. The alcohol study committee voted unanimously in favor of that proposal.

The two committee chairmen also support a proposal to change the hours that alcohol can be sold at bars and restaurants on Sundays from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. the following day. The hours under current law are 10 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Alting said the change would make Sunday sale hours uniform with the other six days of the week.

[url=http://nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/article_ae2c74fa-6147-5188-bf48-ec77422a32c3.html]Senate approves Sunday carryout at breweries
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Tourists often visit microbreweries on Sundays, officials note

INDIANAPOLIS | Members of the Indiana Senate on Thursday figuratively raised a mug to toast Sunday carryout sales of beer produced at Indiana microbreweries.

Senate Bill 75, which allows Sunday brewery visitors to take home up to 864 ounces of beer brewed on-site, was approved 41-9, with the entire Northwest Indiana delegation in support.

"This is an Indiana product that employs Indiana people that's made in Indiana," said state Sen. Ron Alting, D-Lafayette, a sponsor of the legislation.

Hoosier microbreweries asked the law be changed because Sundays are one of the most popular days for tourist visits to the breweries. Not being able to sell on Sundays has hurt Indiana tourism, Senate Democratic Leader Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, said.

"People who like finely crafted brew come from all over the country to taste these brews, and when they like them, they like to take out some product," Simpson said.

State law currently prohibits carryout sales of most alcohol on Sundays. Bars and restaurants can sell alcohol to their patrons on Sundays, but liquor and grocery stores cannot sell booze that day.

The microbreweries asked to be put on the same footing as Indiana farm wineries, which are allowed to sell their wines on Sundays.

There are 32 microbreweries in Indiana, including five in Northwest Indiana.

The Sunday microbrewery sales legislation now advances to the House for consideration by that chamber.

[url=http://nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/article_720e6359-ed81-5ca2-9c6f-88729ac73665.html]Committees approve changes to alcohol laws

Legislation would allow Election Day sales, late night Sunday sales at bars and restaurants[/url]

By Dan Carden - dan.carden@nwi.com, (317) 637-9078 | Posted: Thursday, January 28, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS | Hoosiers may soon be able to buy a drink on Election Day and booze it up at bars and restaurants until 3 a.m. early Monday morning.

In separate votes on three bills Wednesday, committees in the House and Senate both approved measures allowing Election Day sales and extended Sunday sales hours at bars and restaurants.

State Sen. Ron Alting, R-LaFayette, said the changes were "common sense" improvements to Indiana's alcohol laws.

The extended hours measure would move last call time at bars and restaurants Sunday night -- technically Monday morning -- to 3 a.m. from 12:30 a.m. Bars and restaurants are already allowed to sell until 3 a.m. every other day of the week.

Alting said restaurants and bars were losing business from people attending Sunday night events, such as a Sunday night Indianapolis Colts game, because the game doesn't end until nearly midnight eastern time.

"By the time they got back to their hotel room, they were lucky to get a single glass of wine with their dinner," Alting said.

Senate Bill 119 was approved 7-0.

There is a slight difference between that legislation and House Bill 1027, which also contains the provision for extended hours. The House version keeps the existing 10 a.m. Sunday opening time intact, while the Senate version moves the time a bar or restaurant could begin to sell alcohol Sundays to 7 a.m.

Current Indiana law prohibits alcohol sales on Election Day when the polls are open. The House legislation and Senate Bill 118, which was approved 8-0, would treat Election Day like any other day.

Alting said the popularity of early voting has made the Election Day booze ban irrelevant.

Both the Election Day sales and extended hours legislation now move on to the full House and Senate.

New alcohol law just makes sense

By Editorial Board

Publication Date: 03/23/2010

Good news for the 21-and-over crowd: Indiana has finally repealed some of its more ridiculous alcohol laws.

The new statute, which becomes effective July 1, extends bar hours until 3 a.m. on Mondays, repeals the ban on alcohol sales on Election Day and permits Sunday carryout sales at microbreweries.

It’s about time! The no-alcohol-on-Sunday sentiment is leftover from the Prohibition era when Indiana was very anti-alcohol, not to mention from the centuries of Puritan beliefs instilled in American society. Thankfully, times have changed. Many people may still consider Sunday a day of rest, but some people like to enjoy their rest with the help of an ice-cold brewski.

If anything, the ban on buying alcohol on Sundays is slowing production statewide. Instead of hanging out at home on Sundays and accomplishing chores and tasks while enjoying a tasty beverage or two, people have no choice but to sit inside bars. Many bars (Lafayette bars, for example) are smoke-filled with poor ventilation, so Sunday patrons are inhaling carcinogens. By this logic, not being able to buy liquor on Sunday is contributing to cancer. Come on Indiana: No one likes cancer. Just let the people have their booze on Sundays.

For those of you dreading Mondays, rest assured. College kids can prolong their weekend with the help of extended hours at Harry’s – until 3 a.m. early Monday mornings, bars will be open. And starting July 4, the Lafayette Brewing Company will be open on Sundays and consumers can carry out up to two cases of beer. Now you won’t be shunned if you forgot to buy beer for your Sunday cook out.

As for banning the sale of alcohol on election day, what was Indiana thinking? Why are they just now repealing the ban? If people really want to drink before they vote, all they have to do is go to a bar or drink the alcohol they bought the day before. What’s next: Giving breathalyzer tests to all of the voters to ensure they are sober? Who votes drunk anyway? If you feel the need to pre-game for voting, you may be an alcoholic.

State of Indiana: We applaud you. You have started to repeal some of Indiana’s antiquated laws. This Sunday, we may even dedicate a toast to you.

I don't see why we just can't buy whatever alcohol we want on Sundays from whatever business we'd like to frequent.

I don't like the poll options. I like the Sunday ban and I drink. But I don't go to IL to buy. If you can't refrain for a day you have a problem.

Besides it's not like Lake County or any other of the border counties have a local sales tax to take advantage of the extra revenue so any increase in sales will probably just be spent downstate by the legislature.

The new statute, which becomes effective July 1, extends bar hours until 3 a.m. on Mondays, repeals the ban on alcohol sales on Election Day and permits Sunday carryout sales at microbreweries.

I think the bars should be closed until the polls close. I object to 3 AM closing. Don't we have enough trouble with bar patrons? Letting them get even more high on into the morning hours is probably not smart. As to why microbreweries get a free pass I'm wondering if a legislator or friend owns one and made these changes just to help a self interest.